DJ Lemahieu, right, and Nolan Arenado both delivered solid defensive seasons for the Rockies. Arenado is attempting to become the second rookie third baseman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove. (Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post).

ST. LOUIS — Anyone who watched Nolan Arenado this season has a story to tell about his defense.

That play on Marco Scutaro’s bunt in San Francisco. Throwing out San Diego’s Cameron Maybin with a barehand stab and flip. The ridiculous double play to home and first in Miami, Arenado’s personal favorite.

He’s a deserving Rawlings Gold Glove finalist, and would be in select company if he wins the honor on Tuesday night. Arenado, 22, is attempting to become the second rookie third baseman to win a gold glove, joining Boston’s Frank Malzone in 1957.

“Hopefully it happens,” Arenado said.

Only nine rookies of have won the gold glove, or roughly 3 percent of those those chosen. Troy Tulowitzki nearly joined the list in 2007, but was edged by the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins. The full list provided by Rawlings:

NEW YORK — The Rockies have never had three players in the National League All-Star Game starting lineup. Carlos Gonzalez is hitting fifth, Troy Tulowizki is batting seventh and Michael Cuddyer earned the DH nod from manager Bruce Bochy.

Rockies right fielder Michael Cuddyer has been one of the NL’s best players this season. He has 15 home runs. (Dustin Bradford, Getty Images)

SAN DIEGO — Carlos Gonzalez, health willing, promises a better show. He has been selected to participate in the Home Run Derby for a second consecutive year, a worthy honor considering that he leads the NL in blasts with 24.

Gonzalez did not fare well a year ago, eliminated in the first round in Kansas City. However, he has plenty of experience in home run contests in Venezuela, and said, “I will be more relaxed this time around.”

DENVER — The Rockies, as with other teams, put a waiver claim on Mets’ third baseman David Wright. It’s unclear who was awarded the claim, and the Mets have made it known that they aren’t trading Wright. They can just pull him back off waivers.

That said, this is another sign that the Rockies will be prepared to act quickly if Wright becomes available. The Mets have told teams they aren’t moving him. So why put him on waivers? It’s a common process with most players. Teams do it to find out which teams are interested, possibly creating a starting point for trade talks down the road.

TUCSON — Analyst Bill James took inventory of baseball’s young talent in his new book, and the Rockies impressed him quite a bit. They finished second in the rankings, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays. Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez topped the list as baseball’s top young player. Troy Tulowitzki is the highest-ranking Rockie at No. 17.

“We begin by assigning to every player in major league baseball an “Inventory Value”,” said James, who just released the Bill James Gold Mine 2010, “based on his age and major league performance. We figure two scores for every major league player, an “Established Value Score” and a “Youth Score”, then we put these together into a “Youth/Value Score” or Inventory Value.”

James is a deep-thinking statistician who set up to create a science of baseball in the 1980s, an objective knowledge that assigned value to players. In his new book, Inventory Value Scores were also given to the 50 players designated by Major League Baseball in January, 2010 as the best prospects in the game. By counting all players with Inventory Scores of 70 or more, and counting 15 players for each team, James, who works for the Red Sox, lists the 20 “most valuable properties” among young players in the majors (with ages in parentheses):

NEW YORK — The only thing that CitiField has in common with Shea Stadium is the location. Toured around a bit, and this place is grand. I can see why the Mets’ home runs are historically down this season. In person, this park looks bigger than Yellowstone. David Wright has six home runs, so there you have it.

On a Rockies’ note, I went by the broadcast booth and noticed that KOA’s Jeff Kingery is here. The plan was for him to only attend one more road trip in Los Angeles at season’s end following an incident on the team bus in June. Something has clearly changed. I will find out more details to see if Kingery has been reinstated for the season.

Anyway, I am in the press box watching Ryan Spilborghs catch up with good friend Cory Sullivan behind home plate. Sullivan was callled up by the Mets last week after hitting well in Triple-A Buffalo. Keepy an eye out for the lineups.

ST. LOUIS — Brad Hawpe was a great high school pitcher. So good, in fact, colleges didn’t see hitting in his future. Hawpe resisted that notion. He went to junior college, made a phone call that helped him land at LSU, and became a college standout.

Now, after a few near misses, he is an National League All-Star. However in a bit of an upset, he’s not starting tomorrow’s game. He was supposed by rule, given that he was the highest vote-getter among his peers. I will find out more about this soon. Shane Victorino, elected in the online votting, is starting ahead of Hawpe. My knee-jerk reaction is that it didn’t make sense to put Hawpe in center field, a position he’s never played. That’s essentialy what played out.

“I saw Hunter Pence play some center field before, but he really hasn’t since 2007. And with (Shane) Victorino I wanted a guy that had played center field,” Manuel said. “Hawpe is a tremendous player. I like everything about him. I am sure I will work him into the game.”
The NL lineup.
SS Hanley Ramirez
2B Chase Utley
1B Albert Pujols
RF Raul Braun
LF Raul Ibanez
3B David Wright
CF Shane Victorino
C Yadier Molina
RHP Tim Lincecum

It wasn’t too long ago that Taveras was sitting more than playing and quite unhappy. Ryan Spilborghs was playing nearly fulltime and bashing the ball.

But a big-league baseball season is a long, twisted, winding road. “Spilly” has cooled off considerably, and Taveras has played like an all-star the last two weeks.

He’s hitting better (.382 over his last nine games), bunting with precision, beating out infield hits and making like The Roadrunner on the bases. Like Wile W. Coyote, catchers seem powerless to stop Willy T.

His 35 stolen bases – his career high and it’s only June 22 – leads the majors. He never used to even think about stealing third. This season, he’s a perfect 12-for-12.

His average has risen from .233 to .251 and scored 10 runs in his last nine games. His .305 on-base percentage still needs a lot of work, but it’s coming around.

Defensively, Taveras is joy to watch as he roams the wide open spaces of Coors Field. It’s a kick to watch him on the bases, too.

“He is making great strides, from first to second and from second to third, there is no doubt about it,” manager Clint Hurdle said today. “His feel of the game is growing. It’s been a good fit for our club and when he gets rolling it’s a different dynamic.”

Here’s today’s lineup as the Rockies close out their seven-game homestand before heading to Kansas City Monday for inter-league play.

Willy Taveras, the Rockies’ rocket on the basepaths, takes a seat on the bench tonight. Cory Sullivan takes Taveras’ place in center field. The club hopes resting Taveras tonight, combined with an off day Thursday, will speed up his recovery from a strained right quadriceps. “I use my speed for this offense and I can’t really run like I want to right now,” Taveras said. “It’s getting better, but there is still some soreness and swelling.”

By the numbers: With a win tonight, the Rockies would create some unique history by becoming the first team to sweep both the Yankees and Mets in the same season. Of course, interleague play is in just its 11th season, but it’s never been done. In the five games the Rockies have taken from New York teams, the Rockies have hit .329, compared to .212 from the boys from the Big Apple. The Rockies’ ERA is 1.80, the New York teams’ is 6.75.

All-star Matt Holliday enters tonight’s game against the Mets with a 22-game hitting streak at Coors Field and fresh off a three-run homer that ignited the Rockies’ six-run third inning Monday night. That’s the fifth longest home hitting streak in Rockies history and the longest since Larry Walker’s club record 30-game streak from May 18-July 21, 2002. During his current run, Holliday is hitting .414 (36-for-87) with five homers, nine doubles and one triple.

Manager Clint Hurdle confirmed that Josh Fogg will make his scheduled start this week. After that, there will be decisions made regarding Fogg and Jason Hirsh, who starts tonight. It’s possible that Aaron Cook could take Hirsh’s spot Sunday and pitch on his normal rest.

Fogg and Hirsh have been under scrutiny after struggling on the recent 1-9 road trip. Taylor Buchholz remains the most viable option if a change is made after the all-star break.

A look at the lineups, with a couple notes: Willy Taveras is back in the lineup, his leg injury near 100 percent; Brad Hawpe is hitting seventh because the Rockies are facing a left-hander. It’s nothing permament. And Hurdle insisted that he’s not, nor ever has considered switching Todd Helton out of the cleanup spot this season.

Looking to provide a spark, if not rest from some struggling players, manager Clint Hurdle has provided a different look for today’s series finale. It’s hard to blame him. Nothing else has worked in New York, where the team has lost 17 of its past 19 games and been outscored 109-54. Read more…

Just when it looked like things couldn’t get worse, starter Aaron Cook slipped. His left ankle twisted in the fifth. For a moment, a disappointing season graduated into a nightmare. Color returned to the Rockies’ faces when Cook remained in the game after his awkward fall while fielding and failing to tag Mets right fielder Shawn Green as he ran up the first-base line. The Rockies have lost four pitchers to the disabled list – Byung-Hyun Kim, Rodrigo Lopez, Ramon Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins – over the past nine days.Read more…

Remember what Kansas City in December used to be to the Broncos? Regardless of their players, they rarely won there, frozen in time. Shea Stadium has become to the Rockies what Arrowhead was to the Broncos: a house of horrors.

The Rockies have lost 14 of their past 15 games at Shea, struggling to be competitive in most instances. Manager Clint Hurdle didn’t sugarcoat it, saying the Rockies have not pitched or hit well here on most nights.

Quick hits
–Troy Tulowitzki gets the start because he has made progress in cage work. Also, Clint Barmes struck out four times last night.

–Willy Taveras should return to the lineup tomorrow after consecutive days of extended batting practice. He’s trying to use his hands more, which should help him make contact.

–Steve Finley is not viewed as a platoon player with Taveras, according to manager Hurdle. He’s seen as a role player, a versatile reserve. Hurdle is trying to spark both players to ignite a dormant offense.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.